Care Tips to Help Extend the Life of your Outdoor Furniture

Furniture adds an impression of comfort to any room. Whether it’s your living room, bedroom or outdoor patio that is filled with cushioned wicker seating, leather sofas or solid wood coffee tables, maintaining your furniture will extend its life for years to come. After spending a good deal to make your home welcoming and cozy, the regular upkeep and repair of your furniture will ensure your investment lasts.

Outdoor Furniture Cleaning

How to restore your outdoor furniture

The primary effort you should put into your furniture is cleaning. Renovation experts recommend weekly cleanings to sustain the life of your furniture. If weekly attention is too much to ask, monthly cleanings will suffice.

Upholstery requires regular vacuuming to lift out dirt particles and grime that gets embedded deeper into the material as people continue to sit on it. An occasional deep steam cleaning will work wonders to revitalize your upholstered furniture.

Leather furniture should be wiped down with a dry cloth to disengage dust particles. An alternative is to utilize your vacuum’s soft brush attachment to lift out dirt. Leather couches require cleaning with mild soap (experts recommend saddle soap) and water. Simply wet a nonabrasive sponge in the soapy mixture and gently wipe down the leather. Avoid using chemical cleansers, since they can discolor the leather.

Your outdoor furniture needs a monthly cleaning as well. Fibers in wicker furniture can break down from accumulations of dirt. Access crevices in the wicker furniture with a toothbrush. The soft brush attachment in your vacuum will effectively lift out grime from your wicker pieces.

Outdoor Furniture Staining

Apply a stain protector to your upholstery to protect it from unanticipated accidents, like spills from wine or grape juice. You may find your couch has been pre-treated with stain protectants when you purchased it. In this case, the treated furniture piece may include a multi-year warranty that covers stains due to food and beverages. If your upholstered seating does not come pre-treated, you can hire a professional service to apply a commercial grade stain protectant or apply one on your own.

Leather furniture can be protected with conditioner. Quality conditioners extend the life of the leather, keeping it soft, while restoring its natural oils. Conditioners also serve as a natural barrier against spills and its resulting stains. Mink oils or similar conditioners intended for leather work well to invigorate dry leather. Furniture experts recommend conditioning your leather furniture every one to three months, depending on the frequency of use.

Wicker furniture is often placed in outdoor areas where entertaining occurs. Protect your wicker furniture from stains that occur due to accidental beverage spills. Use a mild dish detergent and warm water to immediately wipe up the spills and to prevent the liquid from setting into the wicker fibers.

Placement of Your Furniture

Keep your wooden & leather furniture looking like new

While you vacuum the upholstery in your home, you’ll find it’s an ideal time to rotate the cushions to distribute wear and tear. Leaving the cushions in the same place for any length of time allows those sections to become worn faster than other areas.

Careful placement of your leather furniture has a direct impact on its longevity. Keep leather furniture out of direct sunlight, such as alongside windows, next to sliding doors or under skylights. The sun’s ultraviolet rays will dry out and fade leather furniture. What will result are cracks, spots and blemishes in your expensive leather pieces. Protect your leather goods from the harmful UV rays by drawing the curtains or using window film. Leather furniture must also be placed at least two feet away from heating vents, radiators and other interior heating sources to prevent the furniture from drying out.

While wicker furniture can withstand extensive sunlight to an extent, you can ensure longevity of your outdoor pieces by protecting them from the elements. Wicker can dry out and fade over time when exposed to the harsh rays of the sun. Add decorative pillows and cushions to protect the surfaces of the wicker furniture. Certain cushions are designed to resist fading due to sunlight.

Additional Furniture Restoration Essentials

If possible, keep pets off the upholstered furniture. Pet hair can be very difficult to clean from most fabric. Plus, odors and sweat from your pet can get lodged deep within the upholstery. Increase the longevity of your couches by keeping your pets off of them.

When harsh chemicals, like chlorine from swimming pools, flea treatments, bleach and hair products, come into direct contact with leather, they can wreak havoc on the furniture, decreasing its lifespan. Also avoid sitting on the arms or backs of leather sofas. Resting on such areas weakens them and causes structural damage.

Store your wicker pieces either indoors or outdoors carefully by covering them when not in use. Make sure the furniture is not wet prior to storing them to prevent mold growth. Apply varnish or a coat of polyurethane to your wicker furniture every few years to keep it vibrant for decades. Wicker furniture can last up to 50 to 100 years if maintained properly.

When you’ve stumbled upon a piece of furniture, like a family heirloom, antique or even a broken chair, that would benefit from professional restoration, contact the most trusted name in furniture restoration, Furniture Medic by MasterCare Experts. The skilled craftsmen at Furniture Medic repair all types of furniture, from desks and hardwood floors to banisters, cabinetry, doors and paneling. Broken items or pieces with missing parts can be fixed with the specialized skill of a professional restoration service. Even burns, watermarks, gouges and dents can be effectively restored by the reliable team at Furniture Medic by MasterCare Experts.

The craftsmen at Furniture Medic utilize advanced technology to bring a variety of furniture pieces back to life. When your cabinetry or mantel, for instance, undergoes the furniture restoration process, it will return to its original, pre-damaged gleam. Furniture Medic by MasterCare Experts dependably serves the Glen Ellyn and Wheaton, IL communities of residences and businesses.

Expert in emergency fire and water restoration services, fire cleanup and water damage cleanup, mold removal, as well as carpet and upholstery cleaning services. Contributor to several restoration and cleaning blogs.